This is a quick cheat sheet for the sounds found in Swahili.
There is at least 1 i sound in Swahili. In terms of all possible i sounds, there is the basic most common i sound, the secondary i sound, and the tertiary i sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| i | i | Like "ee" sound. | i |
There is at least 1 e sound in Swahili. In terms of all possible e sounds, there is the basic most common e sound, the secondary e sound, and the tertiary e sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| E | E | Like "eh" in "pet". | ɛ |
There is at least 1 a sound in Swahili. In terms of all possible a sounds, there is the basic most common a sound, the secondary a sound, and the tertiary a sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| a | a | Like "ah" in father sound. | a ɑ ä |
There is at least 1 o sound in Swahili. In terms of all possible o sounds, there is the basic most common o sound, the secondary o sound, and the tertiary o sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| 1 | o$ | British oah sound. | ɔ |
There is at least 1 u sound in Swahili. In terms of all possible u sounds, there is the basic most common u sound, the secondary u sound, and the tertiary u sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| u | u | Like "oo" in "you" sound. | u |
There is at least 1 m sound in Swahili. Notice the English m and mm have a similar shape.
| m | m | Regular m | m |
There is at least 1 n sound in Swahili. Notice the English n and nn have a similar shape.
| n | n | Regular n | n |
There is at least 1 q sound in Swahili.
| q | q | Regular ng | ŋ ɴ |
There is at least 1 g sound in Swahili.
| g | g | Regular g | ɡ ɢ |
There are at least 2 d sounds in Swahili. Notice the English d and dd have a similar shape.
| d | d | Regular d | d |
| d06 | d? | Implosive d (used in Vietnamese, some African languages, etc.) | ɗ |
There is at least 1 b sound in Swahili. Notice the English b and bb have a similar shape.
| b | b | Regular b | b |
There are at least 2 p sounds in Swahili.
| p | p | Regular p | p |
| p% | ph~ | Aspirated p | pʰ |
There are at least 2 t sounds in Swahili.
| t | t | Regular t | t |
| t^ | th~ | Aspirated t | tʰ |
There are at least 2 k sounds in Swahili.
| k | k | Regular k | k |
| k% | kh~ | Aspirated k | kʰ |
There is at least 1 h sound in Swahili.
| h | h | Regular h | h |
There is at least 1 y sound in Swahili. Notice the English y and yy have a similar shape, although the Tone yy is like a Tone OO with a tail.
| y | y | Regular y | j |
There is at least 1 w sound in Swahili. Notice the English w and ww have a similar shape.
| w | w | Regular w | w |
There is at least 1 sh sound in Swahili.
| x | x | Regular sh | ʃ |
There is at least 1 v sound in Swahili.
| v | v | Regular v | v |
There is at least 1 f sound in Swahili.
| f | f | Regular f | f |
There is at least 1 l sound in Swahili.
| l | l | Regular l | l |
There is at least 1 s sound in Swahili.
| s | s | Regular s | s |
There is at least 1 z sound in Swahili.
| z | z | Regular z | z |
There is at least 1 r sound in Swahili.
| G | G | Velar r like the French r sound | ɣ ʁ |
There are at least 2 th sounds in Swahili.
| c | c | Voiceless th (like English "think") | θ |
| C | C | Voiced th (like English "the") | ð |
There is at least 1 dj sound in Swahili.
| dj | dj | Regular dj (as in "judge") | dʒ |
There are at least 2 ch sounds in Swahili.
| tx | tx | Regular ch sound (like English "chip") | tʃ |
| tx^ | txh~ | Aspirated ch sound | tʃʰ |